"When the Giants Come to Town..." is my blog intended to chronicle my thoughts on San Francisco Giants baseball. My special interest is in prospects and the farm system, but of course, will comment on all aspects of the San Francisco Giants. I will also comment on baseball in general, particularly from a fantasy baseball perspective. I hope you will find the site informative, and invite you to join in the discussion.

The Giants strung together 5 singles to plate 3 runs in the 7'th inning to back a splendid pitching performance Johnny Cueto and 4 relievers. Key Lines:

Chris Marrero LF- 1 for 2, 2B. Marrero had the loudest bat in the lineup as he came within inches of a HR on a ball that hooked inches outside the LF foul pole in an earlier AB before he stroked a double down the RF line. He made some not terrible catches in LF to boot. It's looking like Marrero has a good shot at making the team.

Cory Gearrin RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Gearrin his kicked it up a notch at the end of spring training while other bullpen contenders have faltered.

Ty Blach LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Even if Matt Cain starts the season as the 5'th starter, it's looking more and more like Blach will make the team as a lefty reliever as Josh Osich has failed to show he can get outs.

Eduardo Nunez will play several innings at SS for the Giants tonight telegraphing the final roster. It's shaping up as a platoon in LF with Jarrett Parker and Chris Marrero with Gorkys Hernandez the likely bench OF, Conor Gillaspie and Aaron Hill as the reserve IF's and Nick Hundley as the backup catcher. The only possible question left is if Justin Ruggiano might still have a shot at reserve OF over Hernandez, but right now the tea leaves seem to be pointing to Hernandez.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Pratto is HS two way player from Huntington Beach, CA. As a hitter, he has a sweet swing and as a pitcher he has a 89-92 MPH FB. He's played some OF, but all the scouting reports project him at 1B where his terrific arm would be wasted. Read between those lines and you get the idea he has no wheels. BA has Pratto ranked as their #8 draft prospect. That is, by far, the highest ranking I've seen for him. To me, he's a tweener who is a very good all around player but as a pitcher, he doesn't have elite velocity and as a position player, he's stuck at 1B which really devalues him. IMO, he should go to college and find out which direction he develops fastest. Most likely he's a pitcher.

Ramos has tools. The PG metrics have him as a 6.55 runner, 88 MPH on OF throws, 89 MPH exit velocity. The only thing giving me pause is a very long Time to Impact, .132 sec. I have to confess that I don't really know what Time to Impact means. It seems like it should be roughly an objective way to measure length of swing, but I am not sure we know that yet. Ramos absolutely tore up some major showcases including one where he fell a double short of hitting for the cycle in one game. I think I will start a research project where I record Time to Impact for all these HS hitters who were recorded by PG and track them for several years and see how predictive it is in terms of hit tool.

DrB's Updated 2017 Draft Board: Some major changes to the current board as it is time to acknowledge that Jeren Kendall is having a darn good junior season and probably deserves to be the top prospect, although his K rate remains worrisome. Also time to drop some severely underperforming college players.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Giants hit 4 dingers to outslug the Cubs in the Cactus League finale. Key Lines:

Denard Span CF- 2 for 3, HR(2), SB(2). BA= .294. Span has been swinging a hot bat and has looked much healthier than at anytime last year. In addition to the SB, he raced home from 2B in a WP, and that never would have happened last year.

Gorkys Hernandez CF- 1 for 2. BA= .216. Hernandez is the best defensive OF the Giants have. Maybe his late hitting surge will be enough for him to keep his 4'th OF role?

Chris Marrero 1B- 1 for 2, HR(7). BA= .276. The power is sweet, but I have a hard time seeing how Marrero fits on the roster as he's pretty much stuck to playing 1B and the Giants have plenty of backup options for 1B. On a typical 5 man positional bench, you must have a guy who can play catcher, a guy who can play SS and a guy who can play CF. That leaves just 2 openings for guys who can't play those positions, so the numbers really start to work against a guy like Marrero.

Justin Ruggiano RF- 1 for 2, HR(2). BA= .256. Ruggiano is another guy making a case for himself late in the spring. I think he actually has a better shot at a roster spot than Marrero because he is an adequate CF and a plus defender in LF and RF. His RH bat also complements LF Jarrett Parker.

Matt Cain RHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 7.82. This was a better start than the final line would indicate. Leading 5-2 after 5 IP, Cain gave up a double to Jason Heyward and a single to Javier Baez. Josh Osich the relieved and gave up 3 hits and a walk. He allowed Cain's run to score and then gave up 3 more of his own. Look for Cain to open the season as the 5'th starter and for Ty Blach and Steven Okert to be the two lefties in the bullpen.

Steven Okert LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.96. I think this was the first run Okert gave up all Cactus League and on the final day!

Monday, March 27, 2017

Madison Bumgarner was in midseason form and the competition for roster spots reached a fever pitch as the Giants dominated the Reds. Key Lines:

Denard Span CF- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .271. A healthy, strong season from Span would be a huge plus for the Giants chances of adding another championship banner.

Aaron Hill 3B-2B- 3 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .255. Hill made a statement that he wants a roster spot.

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3B- 2 for 3, HR(5). BA= .349. It seems settled that Hwang is going to start the season in Sacramento, but he remains the most intriguing player in the Giants camp. Is he the Giants 3B of the future or is Christian Arroyo? And what about Conor Gillaspie?

Gorkys Hernandez LF-RF-CF- 3 for 5, 3 2B. BA= .204. Hernandez comes back from getting extra AB's in minor league camp and raps out 3 doubles. He also played all 3 OF positions, which seems to send some kind of message.

Canning is a classic pitchability college pitcher. His FB is adequate at best topping out at 94 but usually sitting 89-92 MPH, but he has 4 pitches he can command. His changeup is his primary secondary offering. Canning will be popular with teams who value a high floor over a high ceiling on draft day. For me, he's a round 2 talent at best.

Hicklen may be moving up draft boards. I found out about him on Minor League Ball where some under-the-radar college prospects were profiled. Hicklen is a tremendous athlete who doubles as a WR on the UAB football team. He has done a 6.5 60 yd dash and plays CF for the baseball team. He has shown more speed than power so far but the size and strength would suggest there is power potential there. With the extreme dearth of good college hitters in this draft, Hicklen may have a chance to move all the way into the first round. He is a redshirt sophomore and draft eligible.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Neil Ramirez walked the first two batters he faced in the 9'th inning to set up a walk-off win for the ChiSox to spoil a fine start by Ty Blach. Key Lines:

Jimmy Rollins 2B- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .125. Is there still a battle between Rollins and Kelby Tomlinson for a reserve MI roster spot? Rollins looked good on a pair of doubles but got himself thrown out at 3B trying to stretch one into a triple.

Chris Marrero LF- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .278. Marrero continues to look good at the plate, but let me tell you, a LF he is not. Got a look at him running the bases on TV and if he and JT Snow ran a 60 yd dash, I'm not sure Marrero would win! There was probably nothing he could do with on rocket that went past him to the wall, but then he took a long time finding it after it bounced back.

Conor Gillaspie 3B- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .333. Gillaspie continued his hot hitting with a ringing double that split the RF-CF gap. He also made several excellent defensive plays. Gillaspie was not a good fielder at 3B early in his career, but he's really turned that part of his game around!

Justin Ruggiano CF- 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .243. While Gorkys Hernandez was down in minor league camp getting extra AB's, Ruggy was starting in CF and continuing his hot hitting. Advantage Ruggiano in the race for 4'th OF.

Kelby Tomlinson SS- 1 for 3. BA= .279. Kelby might not have helped his cause when he muffed what should have been a fairly routine play to set up a 2-run 5'th inning, the only inning Blach allowed runs in.

Ty Blach LHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 10/4. ERA= 4.43. Blach was given an opportunity and he made the most of it. The 1 K does not look so impressive, but he kept ChiSox hitters off balance all day with a mixture of locations and speeds. He really only gave up 1 hard hit ball which came right after Tomlinson's muff. Whether he is the 5'th starter or not, Blach probably locked up a roster spot for himself today.

Neil Ramirez RHP- As already mentioned, Ramirez walked the first 2 batters he faced to set up the walk-off win for the ChiSox. Ramirez and Gearrin are probably battling for the last bullpen spot and Gearrin's stock went up while Ramirez' went down today.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

The Giants scored at least 1 run in each of the last 5 innings while the bullpen stymied the Padres to overcome a 7-1 deficit for the Win. Key Lines:

Justin Ruggiano LF- 1 for 1, 2B, BB. BA= .229. Ruggy's bat has come to life after his BA hit a nadir of .067 on March 7'th. He's 7 for 20 over his past 10 games.

Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .279. Panik should not stay in slumps for too long because he makes so much contact.

Buster Posey 1B- 2 for 3, HR(1). BA= .353. Buster looks like he's slimmed down a bit, but still has the Popeye arms. He looks like he's in great shape!

Jae-Gyun Hwang 1B- 1 for 2. BA= .308. Hwang drove in the winning run with a bloop hit to RF. He also won the Barney Nugent Award for best first spring training. He's reportedly ticketed for Sacramento and is reportedly OK with that. He plans to work on his fielding and strike zone judgement(apparently the strike zone is different here than in Korea).

Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA= .174. The BA is deceiving as Crawford missed a lot of Cactus League games to play in the WBC and had a great run there.

Chris Stratton RHP- 3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 3 K. ERA= 9.00. If this was an opportunity for Stratton, well, he didn't exactly take advantage of it. He basically threw batting practice for the Padres for 3 innings. I guess it's a positive that he completed the 3 innings.

George Kontos RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.50. Dominant inning from Kontos whose roster spot seems very safe. After giving up 3 ER in his second spring appearance on March 1, Kontos has allowed just 2 R over his last 8(1 inning each) for an ERA of 2.25 with 2 BB, and 13 K.

Ty Blach gets the start tomorrow agains the ChiSox. It does seem like the Giants are auditioning a backup plan for Matt Cain. According to Pavs, Tyler Beede has been tabbed to start next Saturday's game in Oakland for the Bay Bridge Series.

Also according to Pavs, Michael Morse says he plans to rehab in Sacramento after his hammy heals. He is aware that if the Giants get off to a good start, they probably won't call him up when the rehab is over in which case it's Happy Trails.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Brandon Belt's 3-run dinger was the centerpiece of a 5 spot in the 3'rd inning and Jeff Samardzija had his best start of the spring by a wide margin. The Giants held off a 9'th inning rally by the Rockies against Derek Law for the final margin. Key Lines:

Denard Span CF- 3 for 4. BA= .244. Span is hot. Let's hope it carries over into the season.

Chris Marrero 1B- 1 for 1, HR(6). BA= .292. Pavs thinks Marrero is competing with Kelby Tomlinson for a roster spot which is really too bad because both players are deserving based on their spring performances.

Aaron Hill 3B- 0 for 3. BA= .225. The beats seem to think Hill has made the team but his 0 for 3 today drops his BA to .225 and he just has not been impressive over the past several years. Giants should keep both Kelby and Marrero and release Hill.

Kelby Tomlinson 2B- 1 for 3, 3B, BB. BA= .282. Kelby's BA has slipped a bit but he had a strong game here. Hill may have more occasional HR pop than Kelby but nobody grinds out AB's like Kelby and Kelby is more versatile in he field, IMO.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .333. Shark's hit was a double. He said afterwards he was sitting fastball and happened to run into a slider. Always fun to see Giants pitchers hit.

Reyes Maronta RHP- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. Maronta struck out the final batter of the game to preserve the Giants win, but after he wild pitched in a runner he inherited from Derek Law. Don't be shocked if we see Maronta back in the regular season.

Will Smith has been advised to have TJ surgery which would put him out all season and likely for the first 2-3 months of 2018. Giants control his contract through 2019.

Eduardo Nunez received 2 cortisone shots to the shoulder. Nunez was reportedly able to make strong throws but was experiencing pain. He still hopes to be ready for Opening Day.

Gordon Beckham requested and received his release and will try to hook on with another team.

Pavs reports that Kelby Tomlinson played 6 innings in the OF in a minor league game but only had one chance on a routine flyball. Apparently one roster scenario under serious consideration would have just 1 reserve OF with Kelby, Aaron Hill and Conor Gillaspie all making the team. Kelby and Hill would double as reserve LF's.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Denard Span and Jae-Gyun Hwang led the offense with a pair of 2-run dingers as the Giants overcame a poor start by Matt Cain. Key Lines:

Denard Span CF- 1 for 2, HR(1). BA= .189. Span is hitting .333 over his last 6 games and has hit for the cycle with 3 singles, a double, triple and HR in that span. Eyewitness reports have him looking spry in the OF too.

Aaron Hill 3B- 1 for 3, 2B(4). BA= .243. Hill and Chris Marrero may be fighting for the same roster spot depending on how the injury situation plays out.

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3B- 1 for 1, HR(4). BA= .324. With Nunez flying back to SF to get a cortisone shot in his shoulder, Hwang could be the Opening Day starter at 3B. You could make a case that he won that job competitively anyway.

Matt Cain RHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 8.10. Most of the damage came in the first inning, although one of our commenters reports that Cain was giving up rockets the whole time and was saved from more runs by some excellent defensive plays by Span and Aaron Hill.

As mentioned above, Eduardo Nunez flew to SF to get a cortisone shot in his shoulder and will be shut down for 3 days. Gotta think he might start the season on the DL which opens the door for Jae-Gyun Hwang, who has had a strong spring, to start at 3B on Opening Day. Aaron Hill and Conor Gillaspie remain in the mix at 3B also. Injuries have whittled down the bench options. One scenario I scribbled down was Hundley, Tomlinson, Gillaspie, Hill and Marrero with Hwang starting at 3B. That leaves CF uncovered unless the Giants think Jarrett Parker could play it.

I they think Nunez will be back quickly, they might send Hwang to Sacramento and start Aaron Hill or Gillaspie at 3B and keep Ruggy or Gorkys as another reserve OF. Or, Marrero and Hill could be competing for the same roster spot.

I get the feeling the Giants really want to keep Aaron Hill.

Tomlinson has options and Hwang has said he will accept assignment to Sacramento. Would he still accept it after the spring he has had?

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Nick Hundley and Chris Marrero provided the Giants offense with 3 dingers that drove in all 5 runs for a win over division rival Padres. Key Lines:

Chris Marrero 1B- 2 for 3, HR(5). BA= .302. It was actually Marrero's 6'th dinger of the spring including a non-Cactus League game agains Team Puerto Rico. Marrero has made a convincing case for himself to land an Opening Day roster spot.

Nick Hundley C- 2 for 3, 2 HR(2). BA= .323. Hundley doesn't have to worry about a roster spot and is looking like the offensive upgrade at the reserve catcher position the Giants signed him to be.

Injuries have started to narrow the Opening Day roster choices a bit for Manager Bruce Bochy:

We've already mentioned that Mac Williamson is likely out for a prolonged period with a quad strain which would seem to lock up the starting LF job for Jarrett Parker.

Injuries have plagued Michael Morse his entire career. He suffered a hammy strain that will likely sideline him past Opening Day. That would seem to increase Chris Marrero's chances of making the team, although Aaron Hill and Jae-Gyun Hwang may be competing for the same role.

The Giants got bad news from LHP Will Smith who has a left elbow sprain/strain which will almost certainly sideline him for an extended period. There is even talk of possible TJ surgery which, of course, would put him out for the entire season. Steven Okert had seemingly already locked down the other lefty reliever job. Smith's absence creates an opening for another lefty reliever. Ty Blach would seem to be the leader if Matt Cain can nail down the 5'th starter role. Blach is attractive because he is effective against both L and R handed hitters and can go multiple innings, but he can also be used as a LOOGY if the situation calls for it. Josh Osich is probably still in the mix, but walked 3 batters in his last appearance and time is running out. LHP Michael Roth is also in camp, but has yet to prove he can be used in anything resembling a high leverage role, or even medium leverage!

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

What's really fun about combing through early draft prospect lists is finding players you think are grossly under-ranked. Ricardo De La Torre comes in at #38 on MLB's early top 50 list. I think that is way too low and look for him to catch serious helium as the draft approaches. He's got all 5 tools and they are all plus: 6.63 60 yd dash, 95 MPH on IF throw, 89 MPH Exit Velocity, .104 Time to Impact. He is athletic enough with an arm to be a true SS. He can hit and with enough power to move to a corner. He's fast enough to play CF with enough arm for RF. Wiry frame with plenty of room to fill out. I like Brady McConnell, who I currently have at #6, just a tad better, but I like De La Torre just a bit better than another pop-up prospect, Austin Beck, who I have at #11. Of course, moving De La Torre into the top 10 moves other good prospects down a notch. This draft may be weak at the top but it is looking deep.

Monday, March 20, 2017

The Giants got a strong start from Johnny Cueto and Ryder Jones drove in all 3 of their runs with a dinger in the 8'th inning for the win. Key Lines:

Ryder Jones 3B- 1 for 1, HR(1). BA= .385. Jones has had a very nice spring in limited opportunities. Don't sleep on this kid!

Justin Ruggiano RF- 2 for 3. BA= .200. It seems to me that Ruggy and Gorkys Hernandez are the two OF's competing for bench roster spots who can play CF. He would also be a much better defensive option to platoon with Jarrett Parker in LF. Can he mount enough offense down the spring stretch run to win a job?

They say that of the 5 basic tools you scout a player on, the Hit Tool is the hardest to find. Well, in a draft class that is weak in college hitters, the best Hit Tool in the entire draft may well belong to Hiura who has put up astonishing numbers in a historically pitching-friendly environment. The problem for Hiura is the Hit Tool is his only plus tool. He is not particularly fast, average at best. He does not have much raw power although he has hit some dingers this season. The arm is a big negative. Never strong to begin with(74 MPH on a throw out of HS), he is now battling a partial UCL tear that has been treated with platelet-rich plasma injection. He has been limited to DH duties so far in the college season.

But oh my! You keep going back to the hit tool. I'd grade it at least a 70. He's go short arms, a quick swing and kind of an odd sweeping motion that some scouts don't love, but is probably part of why he is so successful at barreling the ball. The power is probably more gap power at the next level. Unfortunately, the arm and lack of speed probably limit him to 2B, LF, 1B and DH in the pros and he does not have the height you want at 1B nor the power you want at DH or even LF.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Jeff Samardzija was not sharp and the Giants offense struggled against RHP Zach Davies in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate. Key Lines:

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 2, BB. BA= .324. Belt continues to hit well.

Christian Arroyo SS- 1 for 1, HR(1). BA= .278. Arroyo continues to impress whenever he gets a chance. He was reassigned to minor league camp after the game where he will get more AB's to get ready for the AAA season.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 11.12. Is it time to worry about Jeff Samardzija? It's ALWAYS time to worry about Jeff Samardzija! Runs hot and cold. He could stink all of spring training then pitch 7 shutout innings in his first start of the season….or not. You always worry about Shark's next start no matter what happened in his last start. In the end, he will likely have his ups and downs and eat a lot of innings and earn his salary or close to it.

Tyler Beede RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.96. Another strong outing by Beede. He was sent to minor league camp after the game. Bochy muttered something about working him as a reliever..or not.

George Kontos and Derek Law pitched 1 scoreless frame each and both seem to be on track for roster spots on Opening Day.

In addition to Arroyo and Beede being reassigned to minor league camp, the Giants also reassigned LHP Kraig Sitton and optioned utility man Orlando Calixte to Sacramento.

Mac Williamson has a quad strain which will sideline him indefinitely which pretty much seals it up for Jarrett Parker to be the Opening Day starter in LF.

Around the League:

White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada had a monster day at the plate going 3 for 5 with 2 2B, and a HR(3). He is hitting .317 on the spring. If he is not in the ChiSox Opening Day lineup, he will be soon enough as the release of Brett Lawrie cleared the way for a quick promotion. LG, you might come out smelling like a rose for drafting him for your fantasy league!

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Two non-roster relievers hoping to make the Giants Opening Day team got bombed to spoil a terrific start by Matt Moore and a nice offensive game from the top 4 hitters in the Giants lineup. Key Lines:

Denard Span CF- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .143. Span's bat seems to be coming to life in the last several games.

Joe Panik 2B- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .290. Panik has cooled off a bit, but drove in a run and scored one today.

Jarrett Parker LF- 2 for 4, HR(4). BA= .333. Pedal to the metal! Parker just is not going to blow his big opportunity.

Chris Marrero 1B- 2 for 5, HR(4). BA= .256. Interesting battle between Marrero and Morse for RH bat off the bench. Does Marrero have an advantage because he is a better fielder? Grant Brisbee over at mccoveychronicles.com makes a case for Jae-Gyun Hwang competing for the same roster spot.

Matt Moore LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 5/2. ERA= 3.94. Moore has come on strong in his last 2 starts. The Giants need him to have a good season if they want to compete for a postseason spot and a shot at a championship.

David Hernandez RHP- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.79. Early on, Hernandez was looking like a shoe-in for a bullpen gig, but he's been bombed in two outings in a row. Chances not looking so good right now.

Jose Dominguez RHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.79. Dominguez was always a longer shot than Hernandez, and he did not help his cause with this appearance.

Up to now, I've been grinding through MLB's top 50 Draft Prospect list. In Austin Beck, we have our first "pop up" prospect. He's a 5-tool HS OF prospect out of North Carolina who missed some time with a ACL tear of his knee but is now back on the field and wowing scouts. First, let's go to the Perfect Game metrics: 6.52 60 yd dash. 92 MPH on OF throw. 97 MPH exit velocity. 1.20 Time to Impact.

Scouts think he is a true CF, but has the arm to play RF also. The exit velocity indicates excellent power potential. The Time to Impact is a bit slow. If you look at his hitting videos, he draws the bat way back with the bat head almost pointing back at the pitcher at the top of his load creating a long swing path. That is something that can limit a hitter's ability to handle higher velocity pitching, or if you compensate by starting your swing early to catch up to the heat, it's harder to adjust to the slower stuff. The swing seems like it should be easy to fix, but in practice it doesn't always happen.

Beck is currently being added to a lot of top 10 draft prospects lists and in BA's just released top 10 mock draft, they have him going to the Braves at #5 overall. I like his tools, but am skeptical of the bat so will put him a bit lower on my own board.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Matt Cain allowed 3 runs in 4.2 IP and the Giants lineup went down quietly as we enter the dog days of spring training. Key Lines:

Nick Hundley C- 2 for 3. BA= .308. Hundley was the only Giant in the lineup with 2 hits. The rest of the lineup managed just 4.

Matt Cain RHP- 4.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 5/0. ERA= 8.40. If you squint hard, you can see a bit of progress here. The K/BB looks good as well as the GB rate. 9 hits is a lot to give up in just 4.2 IP, though.

Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 0.00. A Will Smith sighting! Having him pitch this early and last a whole inning is great news! Outside chance he'll be ready by Opening Day. Smith is a major key to this bullpen, IMO.

Jarrett Parker LF- 2 for 2, HR(3). BA= .323. Parker keeps the pedal to the metal with another big day at the plate.

Aaron Hill 2B- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .292. Hill seems to be making it tough to not keep him on the Opening Day Roster. I suppose he could be kept as a utility IF and Nunez could cover SS if Crawford needs a blow.

Justin Ruggiano RF- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA= .136. Ruggiano probably needs to get hot for the remainder of spring training to make the team, but he has two things going for him: 1. He can play all 3 OF positions adequately. 2. He historically kills LH pitching which would dovetail nicely with Jarrett Parker's extreme opposite splits.

Albert Suarez RHP- 2.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 6.14. With Matt Cain's grip on the 5'th starter spot getting shakier by the day, Suarez had a chance to move into the lead to be next in line. He did not exactly grab that opportunity by the throat.

Kyle Crick RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.29. Crick has pitched 7 innings this spring with 3 BB's and 6 K's. Were he to maintain those ratios in his minor league assignment all season, it would be a major victory.

George Kontos and Derek Law pitched scoreless innings with Law striking out 2 and getting credit for the Save.

Wil Crowe was a highly ranked draft prospect out of HS in 2013 who reportedly turned down contract offers above $1 M to go to college and play for South Carolina. He ended up being drafted in the 31'st round. He went straight into the Gamecocks rotation and pitched like an ace until he suffered a UCL tear halfway through his sophomore season in 2015. He missed all of 2016 and is back for his redshirt Jr campaign in which he is off to a strong start. His stock is obviously on the rise and should continue to rise the longer he remains healthy and effective this college season.

Crowe has a big body and a big fastball that ranges from 92-97 MPH with a college starter's mix of a curveball that is sometimes a plus pitch and a changeup that still needs work. His history of TJ surgery will turn off some teams on draft day but others will consider him a bargain if it causes some teams to pass on him.

Mac Williamson LF- 2 for 4. BA= .333. Mac also had an OF assist throwing out a runner at 3B. Keeps the pressure on Parker in the race for the starting LF job.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 9.82. Sounds like Shark pitched in a bit of bad luck, but dingers have always been his downfall. Hope he's getting game like this out of his system in the spring.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

The Giants put on their hitting shoes and blasted the D'Backs in a runaway. Key Lines:

Kyle Blanks PH-DH- 2 for 2, HR(1). BA= .333. Blanks was rewarded for a great game by being reassigned to minor league camp. Good to see him apparently healthy and hope he works his way back to be big leagues. He's a fun guy to watch just because of his tremendous size.

Jarrett Parker LF- 3 for 3. BA= .296. Jarrett Parker has a day! No dingers or XBH's, but 3 singles will work too. Because of Mac's option, you have to believe the starting LF job is Parker's to lose and so far he is not losing it!

Conor Gillaspie 3B- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .429. Gillaspie stays hot.

Trevor Brown C- 2 for 3. BA= .389. Brownie is having a spring too. Tough to see how he makes the team though.

Kelby Tomlinson SS- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .364. The utility IF job SHOULD be Tomlinson's to lose. He is not losing it!

Josh Osich LHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 8.30. Did Osich allow Beede's inherited runner to score? The Plays record does not record who gave up the hit that drove in the run in the 7'th inning.

Neil Ramirez gave up a run in 1 IP, and Jose Dominguez maintained a perfect ERA with a scoreless 9'th inning.

The Giants optioned Clayton Blackburn, Joan Gregorio and Chris Stratton to AAA Sacramento immediately after the game. They also reassigned Sam Coonrod, Matt Reynolds and Kyle Blanks to minor league camp.

Buster Posey had 2 hits in the WBC win for USA over Canada including a monster HR to CF that was clocked at 105+ MPH off the bat and traveled an estimated 425 ft. Buster had 3 RBI's on the day. Brandon Crawford contributed 2 doubles in the game, but did not figure in the scoring.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Giants bats had a tough time against the D'Backs in Talking Stick, AZ. Key Lines:

Gorkys Hernandez CF- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .136. Hernandez is off to slow spring start offensively, like many other Giants hitters. He drove in the only Giants run in this one with a hard hit double down the LF line.

Mac Williamson LF- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .308. Interesting battle between Parker and Mac. They are both rising to the occasion.

Ty Blach LHP- 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.89. Not a great outing, but the peripherals look good. With Matt Cain looking more and more like he might be done, does #5 SP come down to Blach vs Beede? Wouldn't Beede likely benefit from at least a half season in AAA?

A big scare for the KC Royals as Salvador Perez hurt his knee in a home plate collision with Sal Butera in the Venezuela/Italy WBC game. Perez was carried off the field but later reportedly informed the Royals that the injury was "not serious." Let's hope that is correct.

LHP TJ House of Toronto Blue Jays became the latest pitcher to be struck in the head by a comebacker. He reportedly did not suffer any fractures and seems like he will be OK. Once again, unless MLB does something about this, it is a question of when, not if, a pitcher will die from one of these injuries.

Michael Morse hit 2 dingers and Jae-Gyun Hwang added his 3'rd of the spring as the Giants offense overcame some rough pitching by Johnny Cueto and Matt Cain in the home half of a split-squad doubleheader. Key Lines:

Steven Duggar CF- 0 for 0, 2 BB, SB(1). BA= .364. Split-squad days give the kids a chance to show their stuff. Duggar played CF and showed the skills of a leadoff hitter here.

Jarrett Parker RF-LF- 1 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .208. Parker has always been a 3 true outcomes guy and the anemic BA tends to hide his value. While touching 1B 3 times, Parker raised his spring OBP to .406 to with a .500 BA. Bochy has some tough decisions ahead, but with Mac having options, it may be easier to give the starting LF job to Parker with approximately equal performances.

Austin Slater RF- 2 for 2. BA= .313. Slater gets a chance to show off his hit tool.

Michael Morse 1B- 2 for 3, 2 HR(2). BA= .250. Morse has gotten hot all of a sudden and is giving Chris Marrero a battle for a RH bat off the bench job. One blast today cleared the batter's eye in CF which sits behind the CF fence which is 430 ft from home plate in Scottsdale Stadium.

Conor Gillaspie 1B- 1 for 2, HR(2). BA= .455. Gillaspie is definitely not backing down in the roster fight. In fact, he's stating a case to be at least the left-handed half of a platoon which would give him the majority of AB's at the position.

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3B- 1 for 3, HR(3). BA= .333. How're you gonna keep 'em down on the farm? Hwang may be forcing the issue with his spring performance. Will his power translate to AT&T Park?

Nick Hundley C- 2 for 2, 2B. BA= .294. Hundley is all but assured a roster spot as the reserve catcher.

George Kontos RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 7.20. Kontos strikes out the side, gives up a dinger. Pretty much a microcosm of what you love and hate about him. Kontos probably has a roster spot to lose, but he may be losing it.

Steven Okert(0.00), Chris Stratton(1.80), Reyes Maronta(0.00)- 1 scoreless inning each. Okert likely has a roster spot to lose. Stratton will likely go back to AAA and wait for an opportunity. Maronta may be a future closer.

Some sloppy pitching by the relief corps game the Indians a come-from-behind win. Key Lines:

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 1, HR(2), BB. BA= .263. Belt has a career spring training slash line of .340/.409/.617 with 35 HR in 469 PA.

Mac Williamson LF- 1 for 2, SB(1). BA= .304. Mac shows that he's not just a slugger. He's got some speed which enables him to steal an occasional base and cover some ground in the OF. Still rooting for Mac to win the Opening Day starting LF job outright. The sky is the limit for this kid!

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3B- 1 for 2. BA= .333. Hwang continues to show he can hit in the states. He's said he is willing to go to AAA to start the season, but will that still be true if he continues to rake in spring training?

Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 2. BA= .353. Tomlinson gets some time at SS. Both he, Rollins and Calixte should get plenty of looks there with Crawford off playing for Team USA. Not only is Kelby winning the spring training statistical battle for reserve middle IF, but all you have to do is go look up his numbers from last year to see this is no fluke. Give the job to Kelby!

The Giants play a split-squad doubleheader today with Johnny Cueto facing the Reds in Scottsdale with Matt Cain scheduled to follow him. Ty Blach and Clayton Blackburn are slated to pitch against the D'Backs.

The Rockies and RHP Chad Bettis got terrible news as Bettis was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer following surgery for the primary tumor in the offseason. Bettis was quoted as saying he was told he has a 90% chance of a cure with aggressive treatment. There are multiple types of testicular CA with differing prognoses. Heads up guys! Testicular cancer is rare, but the most common type of cancer in young men. Be aware!

Friday, March 10, 2017

Clarke Schmidt was a skinny 170 lbs coming out of HS with a FB that sat 89-90 MPH. He's filled out, especially in the lower half, and now pumps heat at 92-96 MPH with what one scout described as "hard sink". He adds a slider that he uses as a putaway pitch as well as a curveball and changeup. Keith Law thinks he's a reliever in the pros, but if the changeup develops, he could be a workhorse starter. I would put him at the head of a deep second tier of college pitchers who could sneak into the bottom of the first round.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Chris Marrero hit another bomb to give the Giants a walkoff win over a very good Team Puerto Rico that featured the likes of Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Yadier Molina, Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan. This was not a Cactus League game, so the stats do not count toward Cactus League totals. Key Lines:

Hunter Pence RF- 1 for 3, 3B. Pence seems to be slowly coming around after a slow start that may have been affected by a barking oblique.

Chris Marrero 1B- 1 for 2, HR. If there is a place on the Opening Day roster for a defensively challenged RH power hitter off the bench, it seems it will come down to Morse vs Marrero. Marrero immediately answered Morse's challenge with another bomb of his own and his second walkoff dinger of the spring.

Johnny Cueto threw 65 pitches of live batting practice including quick pitches to prospects and at least 1 shoulder shimmy according to the beats. He reportedly looked to be in midseason shape and form. He will make his first spring appearance in a game over the upcoming weekend. He will make 2 Cactus League starts before deciding whether to pitch for the DR if they make it to the latter rounds of the WBC.

Mac Williamson LF- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .286. Williamson homers for the second game in a row. Seems to me that if the season started tomorrow, Mac would win the starting LF job.

Chris Marrero DH- 1 for 3, HR(3). BA= .238. Marrero lead the team in spring HR's. Not sure where he fits on an Opening Day Roster, but he is definitely stating his case.

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3B- 1 for 3, HR(2). BA= .313. Speaking of stating his case....Hwang backed up his dinger with a diving stop and throw out, although he did make a bad throw to 2B with Panik getting charge with the error. If Hwan keeps this up, Bochy and Evans are going to have one tough decision to make at 3B. Nunez and Gillaspie have both been out with shoulder/arm soreness although neither situation seems serious enough to jeopardize being ready for Opening Day. I am starting to believe Hwang has the highest ceiling of any of the 3B candidates. If he wins the starting 3B job with Mac in LF, would a 5-man bench of Hundley, Nunez, Gillaspie, Marrero and Gorkys Hernandez fly? Just working through all the possibilities give me a headache!

The kids continued to make noise as Ryder Jones(.333), Christian Arroyo(.400) and Aramis Garcia(.333) all went 1 for 1.

Matt Moore LHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 6.43. Moore allowed some baserunners but pitched out of the jams with the help of the K's. The beats had stories about his improvement after he junked his 2-seamer for his cutter at the urging of Rags and Buster Posey.

Monday, March 6, 2017

If you are looking for a guy the Giants might like a whole lot more than other organizations and would be willing to reach for, look not further than Brendon Little. The Giants have already drafted him once, in round 36 out of HS knowing he had a strong commitment to Univ. of North Carolina. They were just "marking their territory" so to speak. Little tried to make some adjustments in his mechanics and ended up with control problems and he only pitched 4 innings his freshman year at UNC. Frustrated, he transferred to State College of Florida where his manager is none other than former Giants RHP Don Robinson! Before enrolling at St Col of Fla, Little stopped off in Cape Cod where he put up dominant secondary numbers and sat 93-96 MPH which prompted one scout to call him the best pitching prospect in the CCL. His curveball has been called a "hammer curve" and is a putaway pitch with a sharp downward break. So....1. Previous Giants draft pick. 2. Cape Cod League star. 3. Former Giant pitcher is his manager. I'll go out on a limb and say the Giants are aware of who this guy is and really like him a lot.

Aaron Hill and Kyle Blanks, both longshots to make the Opening Day roster were the only Giants player to get hits, a total of 4 in all. The 3 runs produced by the offense was enough to break their 8 game losing streak due to some pretty good pitching. Key Lines:

Aaron Hill SS- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .333. Hill could be working his way into contention for a Utility IF role on Opening Day.

Kyle Blanks 1B- 3 for 3, 3B. BA= .308. It's tough to see a scenario where Blanks make the Opening Day roster no matter how well he hits in the spring.

Matt Cain RHP- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 7.36. If you squint hard, you can see an improved appearance in the stat line. When you factor in that a bloop single to lead off the first inning led to 1 run and a 1 out walk in the 4'th scored on a double allowed by Ty Blach, and it's Cain's best appearances for a long time.

Ty Blach LHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.35. After giving up the double that drove in Cain's inherited runner, Blach settled down and continued his run of impressive pitching. I think if he does not get the #5 starter, the Giants should still keep him in the swingman role.

Dan Slania, Derek Law and Hunter Strickland all pitched scoreless frames with Law striking out 2 batters. Pavs reports that Strickland threw only 2-seamers and splitters. Last year, he was 80% 4-seam and sliders. Strickland is hoping an expanded repertoire will keep hitters off the 4-seamer.

Holmes is a guy with one elite tool and a very projectable body. That tool is speed and he is likely the fastest player in this year's draft pool with a top 60 yard dash of 6.15. An 85 MPH throw from the OF is average at best and his Time to Impact of .126 is slow. The swing may be long but it does produce an exit velocity of 90 MPH which is not terrible and the body is highly projectable. The speed plays on the field as scouting reports love his SB and OF coverage skills. He is a true future defensive CF.

A team that drafts him in the first 2 rounds will have to believe they can help him shorten the swing and still get some semblance of power out of it. IMO, guys like this are great risks to take in the supplemental or second rounds. He's the type of prospect the Giants are not known for drafting. Teams with a history of taking players like this would include the Royals and Brewers. Sabermetrically inclined front offices tend to shy away, which is now most of MLB.

Angels' closer Huston Street has a lat strain and will not throw for 4 weeks which means he will almost certainly start the season on the DL.

David Price does not need TJ surgery, at least for now. He will rest the arm for 10 days and be re-evaluated.

Rockies Rookie OF David Dahl is having upper back issues that are apparently more serious than originally thought. He may have to miss the start of the season which means Gerardo Parra would likely be the starter in LF.

David Wright has a shoulder impingement. It seems like his career is about done as it is one injury after another for him.

Brewers second year CF Keon Broxton went 2 for 3 with a dinger and is hitting .412 on the spring.

RHP Carter Capps, who has had a rather, um, unorthodox delivery and is coming back from TJ surgery, was seen taking double hops while pitching off a mound in the bullpen. This rang enough alarm bells that MLB released a clarification of the rules regarding delivering pitches. It seems fairly safe to say Capps will not be allowed to take double hops before releasing the ball to home plate in games.

Addendum: 1B coach Jose Aquacil got hit in the face with a foul tip. He was doing what all coaches do and should not in spring training. Sitting on a folding chair against the backstop. Transported to hospital. Reportedly did not lose consciousness. Update: Aguacil has a fractured nose and other facial bones and a deep facial laceration. He is reportedly in stable condition and with his family in the hospital.

Mitchell is a 5-tool OF prospect. Lets go straight to the Perfect Game metrics: 6.30 60 yd dash. 94 MPH OF throw. .100 Time to Impact. All of those are close to elite. The swing is a bit stiff and awkward looking. Reminds me a bit of Brandon Belt, but that is the quickest time to ball I've seen so far. It remains to be seen how well Time to Impact predicts future success as a hitter as it is a relatively new metric, but you've got to think it means something.

Concern about Garrett is he has type 1 Diabetes since age 3. I think I read he uses an insulin pump. Teams thinking of drafting him will want to do their due diligence on the medical reports, but it sounds like Garrett takes excellent care of himself. The comp that comes to mind is Jay Bruce.

Notes: This was already an extremely weak class for college hitters and most of the more highly ranked college hitters are off to slow starts. JJ Schwarz, in particular, needed to have a big season to convince scouts that his relatively poor 2016 was just a down year, but he's been even worse so far. Jeren Kendall's stock has dropped significantly with a high K rate already being a concern. Alex Faedo, JB Bakauskas, Brendan McKay and Seth Romero have significantly improved their stock with great starts to the college season. Some teams are looking at McKay as a hitter and he might actually be the best college hitter in the draft. Alex Lange was looking good until getting blown out yesterday. Kyle Wright and Tanner Houck have not dominated at all and their stock is dropping. Tristan Beck is out with an injury and his stock will continue to drop as long as he remains out. He's a draft eligible sophomore who will likely stay in school if he drops out of the first round.

Chris Stratton RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 4/0. ERA= 2.25. Also a pretty good second outing for Stratton. The run was a dinger off the bat of Ryon Healy.

Jose Dominguez RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 2/0. ERA= 0.00. Anther darkhorse for a bullpen roster spot. Dominguez is former Dodgers farmhand who spent a good portion of last year with the Padres. FB averaged 96 MPH last year. Problem has always been high walk rates. Maybe the Giants pitching gurus can help with that?

Breakout Alert: Andrew Benintendi, who Covechatter discovered early in the 2015 draft cycle and then shot up draft boards, went 4 for 4 today with 2 2B, and HR. He is hitting .400 on the spring so far. He is slated to be the BoSox starting LF in 2017 and is penciled into the coveted #2 slot in their batting order.

Prospect Alert: SS Devin Marrero went 2 for 3, 2B for the same BoSox today.

The White Sox have placed IF Brett Lawrie on Release Waivers which means he's done in ChiTown. This move creates a clearer and shorter path for uber-prospect Yoan Moncada to break into the big leagues. In a related story, Bobby Evans is considering signing Lawrie to a minor league contract and inviting him to spring training if he clears waivers(just kidding).

The Giants sent a split squad over to Tempe to take on the Angels and came away with a narrow loss. Key Lines:

Joe Panik 2B- 1 for 2, BB. BA= .600. Panik looks like he's ready to have a great season.

Aaron Hill 3B- 2 for 3. BA= .333. Hill hitting well in the early going but Nunez and Gillaspie seem to be locks for 3B/UT roles.

Jae-Gyun Hwang 3B- 2 for 2, 2B. BA= .444. Hwang is the most intriguing of the alternative 3B options, but how do you get him on the roster without a fairly major trade?

Chris Marrero 1B- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .286. A scenario where Marrero makes the team: Jarrett Parker wins the LF job while Morse and Ruggiano don't make the team.

Mac Williamson LF- 2 for 4. BA= .333. Williamson is not backing down in the battle for the LF job. It's still Parker's to lose because options.

Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .273. The beats seem to think Rollins practically has the IF Utility role locked up, but how do you give it to him over Kelby who has more than earned it and continues to earn it?

Orlando Calixte RF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(1). BA= .273. Calixte shows off his versatility, both at the plate and in the field. Darkhorse to make the Opening Day Roster.

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1). BA= .375. Great day at the plate that's getting some national attention but made 2 fielding errors that seemed to contribute to Matt Moore's poor stat line.

Matt Moore LHP- 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K. ERA= 11.25. I'm a little confused because the beat writeup said that Duggar's errors contributed to the runs given up here, but the are all officially earned. Still in the get-your-work in stage of spring training.

About Me

I grew up in Northern California near the Napa Valley. I got interested in baseball and the Giants by listening to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons broadcast Giants games on KSFO. My early heros were Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and a guy you don't always think of, Jim Ray Hart. When I got older and was in school and early career, I didn't have time to follow as closely, but I tried to look up their boxscores each day and catch an occasional game on TV. One habit I got into at an early age was looking up the stats of their minor league players in The Sporting News. That became more difficult as TSN moved away from comprehensive baseball coverage. Now, of course, technology and affluence has changed all that. The internet is teaming with farm system/minor league information as well as college and high school baseball. Satellite TV enables me to get most of the Giants games on TV. I'm married with 2 wonderful daughters, who like to watch games with me.